It would be pointing out the obvious to say restaurants across the UK have had to diversify into offering home deliveries. But while Christmas Day celebrations remain uncertain, some of our favourite chefs have come up with festive feasting boxes designed to take some of the stress out of the big day. From larder fillers to everything you need for Christmas lunch, here are some of the best boxes to order in advance…
The Black Swan at Oldstead
Tommy Banks, Great British Menu champ and the chef behind Michelin-starred The Black Swan at Oldstead and Roots in York, is offering customers a taste of Oldstead this Christmas and New Year. Having launched delivery service Made in Oldstead during lockdown, the Banks’ family business has continued to deliver food boxes to customers across the country since April. Now, the team is preparing a collection of festive menus and products for December. As with all of Tommy’s cooking, the boxes showcase ingredients that have been foraged or grown in and around Oldstead and products from local suppliers. Whether you’re after a ‘Provisions Box’ packed with everything you might need to nibble on over the festive period or your whole Christmas dinner cooked for you, this is the place to look. The ‘Christmas Dinner Box’ begins with bread and Hafod cheddar custard, followed by oak-smoked salmon, whipped buttermilk and farm-grown pickled fennel. For main, you’ll receive stuffed turkey ballotine served with pigs in blankets, Yorkshire puddings, brassica cheese, braised red cabbage, pommes anna, turkey gravy and sourdough bread sauce. Chocolate fondants with brandy cream, root vegetable mince pies and a bottle of Walker Bay pinot noir complete the set.
Gladwin Brothers
The duo behind Sussex in Soho, The Shed in Notting Hill, Nutbourne in Battersea and Rabbit in Chelsea, are set to follow their forthcoming Thanksgiving meal kits with a selection of festive offerings. Known for bringing the best seasonal and sustainable produce from their family farm in West Sussex, expect to feast on a selection of local produce. The ‘Christmas Essentials Box’ – which feeds four – contains a whole turkey, gammon, 24 chipolatas, smoked bacon, game terrine, heritage carrots, brussels sprouts, roasting potatoes, parsnips, turnips, red cabbage, purple kale, parsley root, Jerusalem artichokes, cranberries and clementines, plus stilton, Christmas pudding and brandy butter sauce and mince pies.
Simon Rogan
Simon Rogan At Home, the home delivery service from the multi-Michelin-starred chef behind L’Enclume in Cartmel and Aulis in London is launching nationwide this Christmas. The five-course feast will begin with Simon’s famous truffle pudding, followed by a roast onion broth with pickled onions and Westcombe cheddar. The choice of either confit trout with cauliflower puree or hen of woods precedes a main of Norfolk Black turkey with all the trimmings. To end your meal, you’ll receive a classic Christmas pudding, while a homemade mulled wine, cider or an optional wine pairing is available to accompany.
Lyle’s
Lyle’s, the Michelin-starred British restaurant in Shoreditch founded by James Lowe and John Ogier, will be delivering provisions boxes and meal kits filled with seasonal treats to doorsteps across the UK. James will be packing boxes full of his favourite dishes and pantry items to be enjoyed at home, from British game shot in the Highlands to his signature mince pies. The ‘Provisions Box’ comes with this mince pie mix, made from aged minced beef from retired Jersey dairy cows, and homemade pastry, ready to be assembled and baked in the oven. Dedicated mince pie kits can also be ordered separately, with enough mincemeat and pastry for six or 12 pies, as well as a tray to bake them on.
Pasta Remoli
If you’re after something a little different, look to Pasta Remoli. We like the sound of the ‘Truffle Christmas Box’ , which is a feast for four to six guests and includes everything needed to recreate the restaurant’s enduring bestseller; 1kg of handmade truffle ravioli, a silky creamy mushroom sauce, 24-month aged Vacca Rossa parmesan and white truffle extra virgin olive oil, along with chocolate torrone, panettone or pandoro and a bottle of prosecco. The ‘Carbonara Christmas Box’ will come with 1kg of Remoli’s maccheroncini fresh pasta, guanciale artigianale from Amatrice in Northern Lazio, pecorino romano DOP and free-range eggs, plus the prosecco and sweet treats as before.
Manteca
Just in time for Christmas, Chris Leach – chef and co-founder of Manteca, the Soho restaurant focusing on nose-to-tail cooking and hand-rolled pasta – will be packing up boxes of his Christmas favourites for delivery nationwide. The perfect seasonal gift or for those looking to stock their larders with staples for the festive season, Manteca’s Christmas boxes will come in three sizes. The ‘Starter Box’ includes a homemade salumi selection, smoked cod’s roe, chicken liver parfait, date jam, Christmas pudding and amaretti. The next size up includes all of the above, with the addition of goose, cranberry and pistachio sausage; grape mostarda and pear and date chutney. For those wanting to go all out, the luxury hamper features everything, plus tortellini in brodo; porchetta with apple ketchup and four brioche buns ready for Boxing Day.
The Ninth
Jun Tanaka has launched The Ninth Christmas box, a hassle-free, assemble-at-home Christmas dinner, which can be delivered anywhere in the UK in time for the big day. Available to pre-order for two, four or six guests, it can be ready from the box to the table in just 45 minutes. The main event is either a pre-brined and prepared turkey ballotine; beef fillet in a herb salt crust; or celeriac, potato and truffle pithivier. All come with a selection of trimmings and sauces, a panettone bread-and-butter pudding for dessert, and the option to add paired red, white or fizz, or all three.
One Fine Dine
Delivering a wide range of seasonal dishes, One Fine Dine does the hard work for you, giving you the extra time to spend time with family members on Christmas Day, rather than slaving away in the kitchen. Catering to all dietary requirements, the festive menu includes three courses with lots of add-ons available depending on just how all-out you want to go. Starters include Scottish smoked salmon topped with Oscietra caviar, compressed watermelon salad, and duck and chicken liver parfait. The main dishes are traditional, with a choice of Denham beef wellington, turkey paupiette or nut roast, each loaded with seasonal trimmings such as cider-braised red cabbage, sauteed brussels sprouts and goose fat roasties. Desserts will come in the form of individual buche de noel with clementine gel, coconut panna cotta or ‘Christmas Mess’.
The Newt
Guests can also opt to have their Christmas groceries delivered from Somerset. As well as fresh vegetables from the garden and high-welfare meats from the butchery – think estate venison, 35-day aged Devon beef, local turkey and goose and five-bird roasts – this year’s most highly-anticipated hotel launch The Newt is offering a full fresh Christmas Day collection. If you haven’t managed to get there, its festive deliveries are available in BA postcodes and across London and slots open on 1st December. We like the sound of the ‘Christmas Breakfast Hamper’, filled with apple waste sourdough, croissants, granola, yoghurt, eggs, smoked trout, local bacon and fresh orange juice; the ‘Christmas Lunch Hamper’ with turkey with all the trimmings – think estate vegetables, stuffing, bread sauce and cranberry sauce – and the ‘Christmas Supper Hamper’ with cheese, charcuterie, spelt crackers, pickles and preserves.
Forman & Field
Turkey, sprouts, mince pies, smoked salmon and festive crackers – fine food and restaurant supplier Forman & Field’s festive care package has everything needed for two people celebrating Christmas together. The success of its ‘Ultimate Care Package’ during lockdown has inspired the brand to think how it could bring festive cheer to those who are still shielding or unable to join their loved ones over Christmas. An ideal gift for elderly or vulnerable family members or friends who deserve to be treated, this festive edition contains Forman’s London-cured smoked salmon, turkey ballotine, brussels sprouts and pancetta, pommes châteaux, turkey gravy, cranberry and port sauce, individual Christmas puddings, brandy butter, mince pies, potted stilton with port glaze, Godminster digestives, Christmas crackers and half a bottle of Court Garden classic cuvee.
For any information on the above festive food boxes, please contact your lifestyle managers.